Shoe and sole therefor embodying an anchor plate and cleats



1970 L. E. BERNIER ETAL 3,

SHOE AND SOLE THEREFOR EMBODYING AN ANCHOR PLAT-E AND CLEATS Filed Nov. 8, 1968 vac A loads l: flemzier 1 yzzizz fw United States Patent M 3,537,193 SHOE AND SOLE THEREFOR EMBODYING AN ANCHOR PLATE AND CLEATS Louis E. Bernier, Rockland, and James P. Giblin, Milton, Mass., assignors to E. T. Wright 8: Co., Inc., Rockland, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Nov. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 774,382 Int. Cl. A43b 13/26 US. Cl. 36-59 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shoe and sole therefor, said sole containing in the side which is attached to the upper in the completed shoe a cleat plate of smaller area than the part of the sole in which it is incorporated, and a plurality of metal cleats fixed at one end in the cleat plate and extending therefrom through the tread surface of the sole, each cleat having a head and a shaft stemming therefrom, said shaft comprising a first cylindrical portion buried in the cleat plate with the head, a second cylindrical portion of smaller diameter buried in the portion of the sole below the cleat plate, a third tapered portion extending from the tread surface of the sole, and a hardened metal tip fastened in the smaller end of the tapered portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The attachment of cleats to the bottoms of shoes is not new and in pending applications Ser. Nos. 710,973, filed Mar. 6, 1968; 727,819, filed Mar. 9, 1968; and 734,154, filed June 3, 1968, there are shown cleat plates with cleats fixed thereto adapted to be embodied in the sole of a shoe either by placing it in a recess at the inner side of a preformed sole of leather, rubber or plastic, or by an injection or pressure molding process. The metal cleats used in the aforesaid applications are provided with a circular head and a cylindrical shaft having a tapering end. The purpose of this invention is to provide, by a novel design of the cleats, improved attachment of the cleats to the cleat plate and improved incorporation of the cleat plate and cleats in the bottom of the shoe.

SUMMARY As herein illustrated, the invention comprises in one aspect a shoe provided with cleats comprising an upper to which a sole is adapted to be attached, said sole having a tread surface, a cleat plate corresponding in configuration to the forepart of the sole but of smaller area embedded in the sole at the side which is attached to the bottom of the upper, and a plurality of metal cleats fixed at one end in the cleat plate and extending therefrom through the tread surface of the sole, each cleat having a head buried in the cleat plate and a shaft stemming therefrom, said shaft having a first portion buried with the head in the cleat plate, a second'portion buried in the sole and a third portion extending from the tread surface of the sole, said first and second portions being cylindrical and the third portion being conical, and a hardened metal tip fixed in the smaller end of the conical portion. The sole may be preformed of leather, rubber or plastic and is provided with a recess for receiving the anchor plate and holes through which the cleats may be pressed. Preferably the sole is comprised of 'a plasticizable bottom-forming composition and is formed about the cleat plate. A cleat plate is also provided at the heel end with cleats which extend through the tread surface of the heel and preferably a filler is interposed between the bottom side of the lasted upper at the heel end and the cleat plate at the heel.

3,537,193 Patented Nov. 3, 1970 The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a cleat plate for the forepart of the bottom;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the longer edge of a cleat plate shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a cleat plate for the heel end of the bottom;

FIG. 4 is an elevation, partly in section, taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an elevation, to much larger scale, of a cleat;

FIG. 6 is a transverse vertical section through a finished shoe showing a cleat plate and cleats incorporated in the forepart of the sole; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary transverse section showing a cleat plate incorporated in a preformed sole attached by a welt to the bottom of the lasted upper.

Referring to the drawings (FIG. 6) there is shown a shoe having an upper 10 of a suitable material and a sole 12 attached thereto, from the tread surface of which projects a plurality of cleats 14. FIG. 6 is a vertical transverse section at the forepart of the shoe and as therein illustrated the cleats 14 are incorporated in the sole by means of a cleat plate 16a corresponding in configuration to but smaller than the forepart of the sole. A cleat plate 16b corresponding in configuration to but smaller than the heel end is provided for the heel end of the shoe.

The cleat plates 16a and 1617 are comprised of a dimensionally stable material and have attached to one side thereof the cleats 14. At one side of each plate there are a plurality of integrally formed bosses 18 for receiving the heads of the cleats, each of which, as illustrated in FIG. 5, has a circular head 20 from which stems a shaft 22. The shaft 22 has a first cylindrical portion 24 next to the head, a second cylindrical portion 26 forming a continuation of the first cylindrical portion but of smaller diameter and a third portion 28 forming a continuation of the second portion 26 which is tapered. At the junction of the portions 24 and 26 there is a beveled shoulder 30 and at the junction of the portions 26 and 28 there is a beveled shoulder 32. The small end of the conical portion 28 contains an axial opening 34 which tapers in the opposite direction and extends from the small end toward the head, terminating at approximately the junction of the large end of the tapered portion with the cylindrical portion 26. A tip 36 of tungsten is driven into the tapered opening 34 and compressed and/or brazed therein. The head 20 may be circular as shown or may be noncircular and contains in its upper surface one or more holes or depressions 38.

The cleats are incorporated in the cleat plates by a compression or injection molding process, which need not be described herein, so that the heads 20, the first cylindrical portions 24 and the beveled shoulders 30 are completely buried in the substance of the cleat plate as illustrated in FIG. 4.

The cleat plates with the cleats attached thereto as thus described may be incorporated in the sole by means of an injection molding process in which the plates are supported at the bottom of a mold cavity, the latter being pro vided with a plurality of holes corresponding to the number of cleats carried by the plates designed to receive the portions of the cleats comprising the tapered portions 28, the shoulders 32 at their upper ends and the tips 36 at their lower ends and to leave exposed within the mold cavity the cylindrical portions 26. The plates thus held are moved into engagement with the bottom of a lasted upper by relative movement of the sole plate and/ or the last on which the upper is mounted and a bottom-forming composition is injected into the cavity around the plates and around the cylindrical portions 26 of the cleats. When the completed shoe is removed from the mold assembly the shoulders 32, conical portion 28 and tips 36extend from the tread surface as illustrated in FIG. 6.

It is within the scope of the invention to incorporate a cleat plate such as described above in the bottom of a shoe which has been provided with a preformed sole comprised of leather, rubber or plastic, and this can be achieved as shown in FIG. 7 by providing a recess 40 in the surface of the preformed sole which is to be attached to the bottom of the lasted upper and holes 42 corresponding in number to the number of .cleats having a diameter slightly less than the diameters of the portions 26, so as to provide a press-fit andthen forcing the plates into the recesses 40 and the cleats through the holes 42. When using this type of construction the bottom is attached by a conventional welt 44 to the lower edge of the upper.

The dimensions of the cleats will depend to some extent on their use and could very well be of diiferent size for men and womens shoes. As herein illustrated, for mens shoes the head is circular, approximately lie inch in diameter and ,4 inch thick; the first cylindrical portion is approximately .298 to .308 inch in diameter and approximately .115 to .125 inch in length; the second cylindrical portion is approximately .254 to .259 inch in diameter and .125 to .135 inch in length; the tapered portion at its large end is approximately .186 to .190 inch in diameter, at its small end approximately 1.30 to 1.34 inch in diameter and is approximately .245 to .255 inch in length. Both shoulders are beveled at an angle of 45.

The cleat plateto which the cleats are fixed may be provided with a peripheral groove and beveled butt end as shown in my copending application Ser. No. 774,382, filed Nov. 8, 1968 and as also shown therein be comprised of any suitable material, including a material which is conformable by heat or chemical material to the contour of the bottom of the lasted upper.

The cleats as thus designed, in combination with the cleat plate by means of which they are incorporated in the bottom of the shoe, afford an especially good anchorage of the individual cleats to the cleat plate, resisting separation therefrom and/or, rotation in the cleat plate, resists axial movement of the cleats in the cleat plate in either direction perpendicular thereto, provides a good seal between the portion of the cleats extendingfrom the lower side of the cleat plate through the sole, and provides a smooth transition from the tread surface of the sole to the tapered projecting portion of the cleat which carries the hardened tip. Moreover, as indicated above, the cleat plate and the cleats attached thereto are adapted both to the formation of molded bottoms and preformed bottoms.

We claim:

1. A bottom member for a shoe comprising a part adapted to correspond in configuration to that portion of the bottom of a shoe to which itis to be applied, said part having a top surface adapted to be attached to the bottom and a bottom surface constituting a tread surface, a cleat palte having top and bottom sides, said cleat plate corresponding in configuration to the part but being smaller in area and thinner than said part, said cleat cleat plate being embedded in the part with its bottom side situated intermediate the top and bottom surfaces of the part, and

4 metal cleats fixed at one end to the cleat plate with portions extending from the bottom side thereof through the part beneath the cleat plate and through said tread surface, each cleat comprising a head embedded in said cleat plate and a shaft extending therefrom, said shaft comprising a first cylindrical portion next to the head which is embedded in the cleat plate with the head, a

second cylindrical portion of smaller diameter than said first, cylindrical portion extending from the first cylindrical portion through the portion .of the part below the cleat plate, and a third portion extending from the second cylindrical portion and from saidtread surface, said third portion tapering and terminating in a tip at its distal end.

2. A shoe provided with cleats, comprising an upper and a sole formed of a plasticizable bottom forming composition, said sole embodying a forepart and heel end having inner and outer surfaces the outer surface constituting a tread surface, a cleat plate corresponding substantially in configuration to the forepart, but being smaller in area and thinner than the forepart embedded in the forepart intermediate the upper and lower surfaces thereof and a plurality'of metal cleats fixed at one end in the cleat plate and extending therefrom through the underlying portion of the forepart and through the tread surface thereof, each cleat comprises a head buried in the cleat plate and a shaft extending therefrom, said shaft having a first portion buried with the head in the cleat plate, a second portion of smaller diameter than said first portion extending through the forepart below the cleat. plate and a third portion extending from the tread surface, said first and second portions being cylindrical and the third portion tapering downwardly.

3. A shoe according to claim 2, comprising in addition to the cleat plate at the forepart a cleat plate at the heel end said latter cleat plate being embodied in the heel end of the sole intermediate the upper and lower surfaces thereof and embodying a plurality of metal cleats fixed thereto, each cleat comprises a head buried in the cleat plate and a shaft extending therefrom, said shaft having a first portion buried with the head in the cleat plate at the heel end, a second portion of smaller diameter than said first portion extending through the heel end of the sole below the cleat plate, and a third portion extending from the tread surface, said first and sepond portions being cylindrical and the third portion tapering downwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 715,138 12/ 1902 Pierce. 3,195,246 7/1965 Ueda 36-675 3,413,737 12/1968 Kneebusch 36-67 FOREIGN PATENTS 706,024 3/ 1954 Great Britain. 11,270 -8/ 1884 Great Britain. 1,107,153 3/1968 Great Britain.

IORDANFRANKLIN, Primary Examiner G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner 

